06 September 2014

2014 planting season draws to an end


With the field days upon us it usually means the end of the planting season for me. Pretty well finished bar a few trees (30000) to be planted up in Geraldton on the main highway. Season was good both volume wise and weather wise with good rains falling at strategic times.
Top pic some 15000 salt bush planted north of Bencubbin, good weed control and early site prep and we have a 95% strike rate to date (last week) with no rainfall to speak of since planting (no double digit recording since planting in June)
Bottom Low area near Lake king once again good weed control with little regermination of rye grass which is always an issue in low lying zones

02 July 2014

main roads offset planting

Substantial project about to begin throughout the midwest planting over 100,000 trees across various sites from Ajana to Perenjori. With good rains projected now and in the next few days the ground will be moist and ideal conditions

DPAW plantings 2014



DPAW plantings south of Perth (Mundijong) some 25,000 will be planted across numerous sites along the Serpentine River as part of the rehabilitation of the river system

03 March 2014

28 years planting trees for one family

                                          Bruce Lefroy inspecting 2013 creekline revegetation.



There is a lot of satisfaction in returning back to a farm and seeing how tree planting and fodder crops can  improve the ambiance and profitability.
I've been going back to Cranmore Park Stud in Walebing for 28 years to plant trees for Bruce Lefroy.
We started off creating shelter belts of Eucalyptus for the stock to give them some shade and wind protection. I'm now revegetating the creeklines with salt bush which create a fodder reserve for the poor seasons.
I encourage farmers and landholdrs to chip away at their landcare issues.

22 January 2014

Offset planting for Main Roads West Aust....winter 2013

July 26 wattles
By Deryn Thorpe
I took a drive from Perth to Perenjori last week, winding through Bindoon’s orange orchards and the intense green of the emerging wheatcrops.
While our agriculture showed the diversity of food growing in WA it was the beauty of the mid winter wildflowers, especially the brilliant yellow of our wattles, that captured my attention.
My drive was to check out a landcare project revegetating roadsides near Perenjori where Plantation and Landcare were planting out some 150,000 seedlings of local area native plants including hakeas, melaleucas, small eucalyptus mallees and wattles.
These seedlings, like the wildflowers by the roadside, survive only on the rain that falls from the sky and were chosen to create a relaxed yet colourful landscape that will enhance the drive through the central mid west Wheatbelt.
Wattles are one of the first plants to flower in winter and part of a big family containing about 900 species ranging from big trees to small shrubs.
They are a legume with roots that adds nitrogen to the soil and are an early coloniser of disturbed sites and post fire regeneration. Most wattles have phyllodes rather than true leaves which is an adaptation to their dry environment. They are beloved garden plants and most have fluffy yellow pom pom flowers and many have edible seed.
One of the most useful small shrubs flowering now from Ravensthorpe to Geraldton is prickly moses (Acacia pulchella), which grows 0.5m to 2m high and provides a protected habitat for birds as it has small spines along its stems.
The revegetation team’s wattles included the summer scented wattle (Acacia rostelifera), a shrub from 2m to 5m, dead finish (Acacia tetragonaphylla) a spreading, prickly shrub growing 2m to 4m tall, Acacia multispicata a dense to wispy shrub from 0.2 to 2m tall and Orange Wattle (Acacia saligna) a dense, often weeping shrub from 1.5m to 6m tall.


I’m looking forward to driving back that way late next winter when I expect the roadside to be a sea of yellow and green.

Back on deck

Over summer and the harvest period in WA things are abit quieter within the landcare industry. Once the trees are order for the following season its time to take a break.
Sailing always has been in the blood so this year I decided to sail from Albany (WA) down through the southern ocean to Sydney then we were part of the Sydney - Hobart blue water classic. Although we didnt achieve the results we wanted we finished. Then up to Brissie last week. This is all part of the clipper around the world race involving 12 70 yachts